A shadow of the past
by Darkangel546
Summary: 7 years have passed and Cloud tries desperately to forget about Aeris. Chapter 1 redone, rated PG-13 for future chapters


**A Shadow of the past**

_Wow, it's been a while since I updated this. Anyway, this chapter has been edited and the endings changed slightly, which will (Hopefully) cause it to make a bit more sense._

_Note: " Means someone is speaking and ' means they're thinking. _

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Prologue

7 years have passed since Sephiroth was defeated and peace was restored to the land; Cloud and Tifa have been happily married for 6 years and are currently living in Kalm.

The 28-year old man lay in a large bed looking into the face of his beautiful wife; her long chestnut hair rested exquisitely across her face giving her the appearance of an angel, he leant forward and brushed a lock of it out of her hazel eyes. Her tanned arms were wrapped lovingly around her husband's waist and her muscular legs were stretched out across the bed, one of her bare feet hung from the side, it's delicate toes painted red like rubies. He couldn't help noticing how peaceful and elegant she looked whilst sleeping. Which was actually the complete opposite of her usual personality.

Cloud rested his head on his pillow with a worried look on his face; his bright blue eyes, now the only hint at his troubled past were wide open and his blonde hair whereas usually spiked was now rested on his shoulders in it's natural style. He'd been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. Maybe he just didn't want to sleep, maybe he was afraid he'd dream about…her again.

Up until recently he'd been happy with Tifa but now his dreams were filled with images of his true love.

He grasped his wife's arm and gently placed it onto the sheets before climbing out of bed. After he'd pulled on his clothes he crept through the bedroom door, being careful as he closed it in order to let Tifa sleep.

He straightened out his hair and attempted to tie it into a ponytail whilst creeping down the stairs with a frown etched upon his face.

As soon as he reached the kitchen he headed over to the refridgerator and took out a bottle of his favourite beer before sitting at the table, his eyes darted around the room nervously as if he expected something to happen.

Right on cue a soft voice whispered to him,

"Cloud?"

The blonde haired warrior looked up, expecting to see his wife standing in the doorway. What he saw made his jaw drop in surprise.

"A-Aeris?"

The brown haired woman walked towards him, her feet making no noise as they touched the stone floor despite her clumsy and awkward steps, it looked as if she hadn't used them much lately.

She sat across the table from the man and smiled, making Cloud's heart skip a beat.

She looked exactly as she did the day she was killed by the silver haired ex-SOLDIER, Sephiroth. Just the thought of the 'man' who was once his hero filled him with hatred and gave him the urge to lash out at someone, the only thing that kept him from doing this right now was the image of the last cetra who sat before him.

Her long, hazel hair was tied into a long braided ponytail and a few stray hairs hung over her face, couple with her innocent cheeky smile this gave her an almost childlike appearance. She was wearing her usual outfit of a pink dress and matching hair ribbon.

The man stared into her beautiful emerald eyes afraid to blink for the fear that she would disappear again.

"You were thinking about me, weren't you?" Came the beautiful, sweet sounding voice that had always made Cloud wish she would never stop speaking.

He struggled to find something to say but all he could manage was,

"...I miss you Aeris."

'Doh'

He thought back to the day that he met her all those years ago.

He'd bumped into her in the Midgar Slums after his first mission with the resistance group AVALANCHE and agreed to buy a flower on the condition that she went straight home. At the time he'd wondered where she got it since Midgar wasn't exactly the most cheerful place in the world and after that first reactor explosion it wasn't the safest either.

He was so young back then. Although he'd just shaken his head and tried to hide it he had actually felt a small twinge of regret when he told her to get back to her home. Even as early as that he'd felt a strange longing to be with this innocent girl.

Aeris looked at the ground and shifted her feet uncomfortably as if she could read his thoughts.

"And I miss you Cloud. But...you have to try and forget about me...for your sake…and Tifa's."

Cloud felt ashamed as he thought of his wife.

"Aeris, I'm sorry...but you were gone, I..."

He never got to finish his sentence as Aeris reached forward and pressed her finger against his lips.

"It's okay Cloud, I understand completely."

She looked over her shoulder with a worried look on her face as if she could see someone Cloud couldn't before smiling once again and disappearing, leaving Cloud alone in darkness as a small tear rolled down his cheek.

He climbed to his feet, and after pulling on his jacket he opened the door and steeped outside.

'I can't face Tifa tonight, I think I'll just go for a walk.'

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_There you go, was that any better? Oh well, chapter 2 will be here soon._

_By the way, all of these plotholes will be filled in during later chapters._

P.S Quickedit is really useful


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